The present invention relates to a technique of displaying information, particularly to an apparatus for information display to passengers and passersby in stations, airports, harbors, bus terminals, buildings and streets, and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to a technique which is useful and efficient when applied to display apparatuses and the like that can display non-reservation information alone in one screen, or reservation-based information and non-reservation information together in one screen.
There is information, such as advertisement, that should be displayed in time frame by some of the display devices installed in the stations and streets, said time frames and said display devices having been designated in schedule. There is other information that should be displayed for convenience and safety for the passengers and passersby. Such information is, for example, the messages of xe2x80x9cThe train is coming into the trackxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cThe train is now overduexe2x80x9d made in the stations. On the streets, such information may be special newscasts and the like.
Hitherto, display devices for displaying information, such as static pictures, moving pictures and the like, in desired time frame have been of the type that sequentially reproduces items of information recorded on, for example, video tape. These display devices are technically disadvantageous, because they cannot display information not designated in the schedule or display data in any order changed.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-244600, a display device is known that displays recorded information reproduced from a video tape and then stored into a data storage section such as a server, in the time frame designated in schedule. However, this display device has no means for detecting any information which is other than the information designated in the schedule and which should yet be displayed. Nor is this display apparatus designed to display any data items other than those designated in the reservation schedule.
An object of the present invention is to provide an information-displaying technique that can display various types of information in various modes whether the information is designated by schedule or not.
An apparatus for information display according to the present invention comprises information-storing section for storing a plurality of various data that do not accord with schedule, an input circuit for receiving a plurality of input signals from an external device or a remote place, and a display control means for displaying the data corresponding to the kind of the input signal, prior to any data that accords with the schedule when an input signal is received from the external devices or the remote places. Thus, the apparatus for information display can display data generated of the schedule, such as a message xe2x80x9cThe train is coming into the trackxe2x80x9d corresponding to an input signal generated in any external devices (e.g., a train service control device) or xe2x80x9ca special newscastxe2x80x9d corresponding to an input signal received through a transmitting/receiving circuit.
The apparatus for information display comprises display control means designed not to cancel, interrupt or inhibit the displaying of data that accord with the schedule, when data that do not accord to the schedule are displayed prior to the data that accord with the schedule. The display control means perform the following functions.
The apparatus for information display comprises screen-combining means for combining data to be displayed in accordance with the schedule, together with data to be displayed regardless of the schedule. In this case, the display control means cause the screen-combining means to combine these data, thereby to display one combined screen data consisting of these data. Thus, the data that do not according with the schedule can be displayed on the same display unit, without interrupting the displaying of the data that accord with the schedule.
The display control means can start the displaying of the data that do not accord with the schedule, at a timing of switching the data that accord the schedule, when an input signal is received from the external device or the remote place. Hence, the data that do not accord with the schedule can be displayed, without interrupting the displaying of the data that accord with the schedule.
The apparatus for information display may be a multi-screen apparatus having a plurality of independent screens. In this case, the display control means display data that do not accord with the schedule on one or more screens, without jeopardizing the displaying on the other screens.
Moreover, the display control means perform some additional functions, not to jeopardize the displaying of data not according with the schedule or the displaying of data according to the schedule, if new data to be displayed have been generated regardless of the schedule.
First, when a new signal is received from an external device or a remote place while data that accord with the schedule are being displayed, the display control means compare, in the precedence, the data being displayed with the data corresponding to the input signal. If the priority of the data being displayed is higher, the display control means start the displaying of the data corresponding to the input signal after the data have been completely displayed. If the priority of the data being displayed is lower, the display control means immediately start the displaying of the data corresponding to the input signal.
Secondly, if the apparatus for information display has a plurality of screens for displaying a plurality of independent screen data at the same time, a new signal may be received from an external device or a remote place while data that do not accord with the schedule are being displayed on one or more of the screens. In this case, the display control means display the data corresponding to the input signal on one or more screens which are displaying data that accords with the schedule.